Arkansas Rep Stages EVITA Through 10/3

From small town anonymity to big city stardom, the life of Eva Perón reads like an Argentine Cinderella story. But there was no fairy godmother for Evita. She clawed her way to the top using both her beauty and her brains, rising from obscurity to become one of Argentina's most notable and notorious political figures.

Arkansas Repertory Theatre is bringing back this modern musical classic with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Evita, which opened September 10th.

Winner of seven Tony Awards and six Drama Desk Awards, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Evita recounts the life of Argentina's extremely controversial First Lady. The tenacious actress-turned-demagogue inspired a cult-like following among Argentina's lower classes but was despised by the upper crust.

First conceived as a rock opera concept album, the show's 1978 premiere was a smash on the West End and on Broadway. In 1996, the film version of the musical starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas won an Academy Award. A 2006 London revival followed, and the ever-popular combination of Andrew Lloyd Webber's music, Tim Rice's lyrics and Evita's timeless rags-to-riches story continues to enthrall audiences worldwide.

The musical Evita documents in song and dance María Eva Duarte's transformation into Eva Perón. Though the musical's creators took some artistic license with the events and people involved, the perimeters of the show's plot are grounded in Eva Perón's real-life story.

Eva grew up in a small town in rural Argentina. At age fifteen, she left her family to pursue a career on the stage in Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital city. While her theatrical career failed to take off, Eva experienced a measure of success in Argentine radio soap operas.

Her photogenic looks made her prime fodder for tabloid features. She was allegedly romantically linked to several producers and businessmen, but her last and most famous liaison was with the Colonel Juan Perón, the poster child of the Argentine army. Up until her relationship with Perón, Eva had held no political leanings, but upon becoming his mistress, she was vaulted into the political spotlight.

Perón was elected president in 1946 and suddenly Eva had access to unprecedented power and wealth. At Perón's side she became a prominent figure on the Argentine political scene, achieving as first lady the fame that had alluded her as an actress. With just a "touch of star quality" and a ton of tenacity, Eva became Evita, a woman worshiped and adored by the masses.

THE DIRECTOR
Cliff Fannin Baker (Director) is the CEO and Artistic Director of Wildwood Park for the Arts. He became the new director at Wildwood Park in 2008, which he sees as a collaborative project that explores and celebrates the horticultural, performing, visual, culinary, healing and literary arts. As the founding artistic director of The Rep, he produced hundreds of plays of every genre, including more than 30 world premieres. Among his most recent shows for The Rep are Proof, Born Yesterday, My Fair Lady, Anything Goes, Gypsy, Art, A Chorus Line and Doubt. As a freelance director he has also worked at numerous regional houses across the country and internationally, including over 10 productions at Portland Center Stage in Oregon. Baker was the first recipient of the Arkansas Governor's Award for Outstanding Individual Artist. He has also received the Golden Circle Award for Regional Achievement, the Award of Distinction from the Arts and Humanities Commission and the 1999 Governor's Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement. He is a member of SSDC and The Dramatists Guild.

Featured CAST

Maria Eberline (Eva Perón) is making her Arkansas Rep debut as Eva Perón. Maria recently made her Broadway debut in Wicked, covering the role of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Other credits include: Mistress in Evita (European Tour/recording), Sandy in Grease (European tour), Serena in Fame (1st National Tour), Lucy in Jekyll and Hyde (Sacramento Music Circus), Anita in West Side Story (Fullerton CLO), and Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress (directed by Carol Burnett).

Al Bundonis (Juan Perón) performed in Arkansas Repertory Theatre's A Little Night Music (Carl-Magnus) with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. He starred in the US premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's newest musical, Whistle Down the Wind and has performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Other New York credits include Ragtime, Sessions, The Last Empress and Tom Jones. Regionally, Mr. Bundonis has performed in Camelot (King Arthur), Jekyll & Hyde (Stride), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Lawrence), Hello Dolly (Vandergelder), Guys & Dolls (Sky), She Loves Me (Kodaly), Urinetown (Lockstock) and the title roles in The Music Man, Superman and The Will Rogers Follies.

David Villella (Che) has performed on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning revival of Annie Get Your Gun, Off-Broadway in Boobs-The Musical as well as New York City Opera's production of Candide. He performed Tugger in Cats in Hamburg, Germany and has been seen in numerous other regional productions across the US. Favorite roles include : Tatah in Ragtime (White Plains), Barber/Muleteer in Man of LaMancha (Maltz Jupiter Theatre) Pharaoh in Joseph...Dreamcoat (Arvada Center), Bernardo in West Side Story (Marriott Lincolnshire), El Gallo in The Fantasticks! (Merrimack Rep), Michael in Smokey Joe's Cafe (Pioneer Theatre).

Local CAST

Katie Emerson (Mistress/Ensemble) is a native Arkansan who is thrilled to be back at The Rep after playing Sally Simpson in The Who's Tommy. Katie was most recently seen as a lead singer onboard the Regent Sevens Seas Navigator Cruise Ship where she cruised and performed throughout the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. Her favorite roles include: Clara in The Light in the Piazza, Christine in The Phantom of the Opera, Tribe Member in Hair, and The Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd.

Allison Stodola Wilson (Ensemble/Dance Captain) is very excited to be back at the Rep, where she has performed in A Chorus Line (Kristine), Gypsy and Anything Goes. Most recently Allison performed with her husband, Craig, aboard Holland America Cruise Lines. She spent 3 years with the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and has also performed in Guys and Dolls and Carnival (Papermill Playhouse), All Night Strut (Marriott Lincolnshire) and 42nd Street (Moscow Cast). Allison teaches at Shuffles and Ballet II and has a degree in Dance Performance from Butler University.

Rachael Small (Ensemble) is excited to be making her main stage debut at the Rep. She appeared this summer in the Rep's "Voices at the River" Festival, and regularly performs in productions with the Conway Dinner Theatre, the Little Rock Community Theatre, and at the University of Central Arkansas, where she is studying English and Music. She is an alumna of the Rep's Young Artist Program. Past roles include: Dolores in Blind Date, Canibelle in Starmites, Winnie Tate in Annie Get Your Gun, and Lola in Damn Yankees.

Evita features a cast of 19 adult actors, eight orchestra members and nine child actors for a total cast size of 36.

ARTISTIC AND TECHNICAL TEAM
The Rep's artistic and technical team for Evita includes Cliff Fannin Baker (Director), Helen Gregory (Musical Director), Lynne Kurdziel-Formato (Choreographer) Rafael Colon Castanera (Production Manager), Marianne Custer (Costume Designer), Lynda J. Kwallek (Properties Designer), Don Yanick (Set Designer), Jason Pruzin (Sound Designer), Matt Rozzell (Video Designer) and MikE Eddy (Lighting Designer).

Performances through October 3.

Wednesday, September 15
Performance Interpreted for the Hearing Impaired

Tango LIVE at The Rep

Local tango dancers will be conducting Argentine Tango demonstrations in the Rep's lobby on Opening Night of Evita, and before select performances of Evita throughout the run.

The Rep is pleased to welcome members of the Little Rock tango community to perform in our lobby, as their beautiful movements transport patrons into the smoky salons of Buenos Aires as they prepare to immerse themselves in the world of Evita.

The tango was born from the combination of the dance idioms of France, Germany, Italy and Spain with African and local flavorings. It began as a dance of the urban poor: an expression of passion, nostalgia and longing for human connection.

With the invention of the radio and film in the twentieth century, tango became accessible to an even wider audience. Eva Perón's heyday during the 1940s and 1950s was also tango's Golden Age: high profile singers, first-rate orchestras and five star venues made the dance glamorous. Tango, with its sleek style and seductive sophistication, came to define the ethos of Argentina in general and Buenos Aires in particular.

Today, not only is tango an integral part of Argentina's cultural identity, it is danced and enjoyed by people of all nationalities. In 2009, the United Nations officially declared tango to be an integral and protected component of the world's cultural heritage. The drama, passion and mystique of the dance have won aficionados worldwide.

What sets Argentine tango apart from other forms of dance? Unlike in ballroom dances, tango dancers do not follow figures or set, memorized patterns of steps, but rather every step is improvised. Watching a pair of tangueros, you will notice that the partners do not mirror each other: each tango gesture involves a prescribed set of movements for the leader and an entirely different set of movements for the follower. Though there are many styles and manifestations of tango, as with no other dance, emotion must propel the movements. The feeling of the music and the connection between the partners are the key elements of this dance.

For an updated listing of Argentine Tango dancers scheduled throughout the run, visit www.therep.org.